Tire chain applying device



March 20, 1951 c, so 2,545,722

TIRE CHAIN APPLYING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 1, 1947 iNVENTORMarch 20, 1951 c, BALSON 2,545,722

TIRE CHAIN APPLYING DEVICE Filed Aug. 1, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORATT RNEYS March 1951 A. c. BALSON 2,545,722

TIRE CHAIN APPLYING DEVICE Filed Aug. 1, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 KTTORNEYSPatented Mar. 20, 1951 son administrator of said Kdriaii C. Balsori,

Aiijilication A'iigust 1, 1947, Serial so. tame" My invention relatestohand toolsfor inserting or/threading the, fabric or suitable straps'ofindividual automobile cross chain assemblies, through, the sl'ots" ofautomobile wheels and around the tires.

A- purpose of my invention is to simplify and ch'eapen the constructionof automobile tire chain strap threaders'. W S w A further purpose isto, avoid the, necessity of puncturing the -strap1with holesclearthrough for engagement of a buckler or the like, and to prevent theoperator from wasting time and en: countering trouble in manipulatingbuckles and clamps provided: with lever devices; especially when suchoperations are troublesome due to the necessityof wearing'gloves. p

A further purpose is to enable the operator to attachthe; end; of thetire cha-in unit strap into the threading tool by simply inserting theend in a socket and engaging the side against prongs at the mouth of thesocket.

A further purpose is to permitthe engaging end of a tire chain strapthreader to be formed entirely by stamping nan the strip making up thethreader, v} V d Furthef purposes appear in the specification and. inthe claim.

the draw ha e chosen to re tate e'o 'l the a ious mbod men of Wh ch-ic nn io m r appear c os n t e m. show omt s nd oint? conv n enc in oeration satisfactory illustration and clear demonstration of theprinciples involved.

Figure 1 is a perspective of my tire chain threader in inactiveposition.

Figure? is a perspective of the strap gripping end.

Figure 3 is a central longitudinal section of the gripping end with astrap in gripping position.

Figure 4 is a section of Figure 3 on the line 4-4.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary perspective of my threader in inactiveposition and lying, within a container.

Figures 6 to 9, inclusive, are radial sections of a tire and Wheelshowing the progressive steps in use of the threader to apply anindividual tire chain unit to the tire. In these views the tube of thepneumatic tire is omitted.

Describing in illustration, but not in limitation, and referring to thedrawings:

During recent years, the cumbersome characteristic of automobile tirechains completely enveloping the wheel, and the expense thereof have ledto the adoption of individual tire chain units thr ugh a slot or betweeno e Whee hee; d are: .qapeblenf ,ae

tac .1]. up the panda, f a r l venient application when inclementweather ri sfilh fl fitr. a One se ousfiif cultr ,hq fv nin e ap ica in. .1 ediri uel, i 9min nits is t h mne sar in m around behind th ti9ir.. sa emr. wit h said f t gfi onl ere. uc.h. rindi (m an c v userpsqiahv the 6P .f fi i gloves and is impatient because" of the at ei qsre pr or ar .reechae srns frequ nt val e. en slere s es .ial d ti emiheus ci PITO 1M9 catc dunes strap can be engaged in the thrader sin plyby seekin -2. .9 sea excess .lb n a .t fi i' s a may 2 83% flee n t 1 tisp sh de t r ngs. O bi k lhq H heatre i ar no: p lens; of buckles orclamping lifers is necessary.

,Thl.ivi l nrly.r rlittle idie'f n Jt walls of the gripper beyond thesides of theatres, so that there is little danger of fouling on theparts of the wheel or tire.

The whole gripper can be made by stamping from the strip forming thethreader, and thus expense of materials and fabrication are muchreduced.

My threader 2|] is formed from a strip 2| of resilient material of awidth and thickness suitable to pass readily through the strap slot 22of an automobile wheel 23. The preferred material will be sprin steelstrip, of either plain carbon or alloy steel grade, but it will beunderstood also that resilient steel strip not of spring grade may beemployed provided it has suflicient spring to maintain a tendency tocurl as shown at 24, and to hug the tire as shown at 25. The device willconveniently achieve an Archimedes spiral in inactive position, asshown.

In case it be desired to manufacture the device from non-ferrousmaterials, it may be manufactured from brass, bronze or beryllium copperof suitable spring temper.

The rear end of the strip, which will function as a handle, isconveniently bent transversely at 26 for convenient gripping.

The grip end for engaging the strap is formed from the strip material,preferably first bending laterally at 27 to displace the strap endslightly toward the inside of the curve of the strip, and thencontinuing the body portion 28 of the gripper in prolongation of thestrip substantially straight until the end, at which a curve 29 isprovided to one side, suitably to the outside of the curve of the strip.This curvature serves to mark the gripping prongs, and .assures closeengagement with the stap 30, so that no projection from the threaderlikely to catch on the Walls of the slot or parts of the tire ispresented at the front of the threader.

Suitably inside the concavity of the curve 29 of the body, close to theend of the body and preferably punching therefrom, I provide grippingprongs 3i pointing away from the end and capable of embedding themselvesin the strap as shown best in Figure 3.

Punched from the strap, displayed and parallel to the body I provide aresilient tongue 32 forming a recess or socket 33 for the end of thestrap and terminating at 34 short of the prongs in a curve 35 away fromthe body, which serves to guide the end of the strap into the recess 33.The tongue by its spring action tends to hold its position and to pressthe strap in position to engage and be held by the prongs 3 I.

It will thus be'seen that upon insertion of the end of the strap in therecess and straightening out of the strap in prolongation of the strip,the gripping action of the strip is automatic in tension, and somegripping action in compression is provided by pushing against the base26 of the recess.

When in an inactive position the threader by virtue of its springcharacter curls up to the shape shown in Figure 5, and conveniently fitswithin a box or can 37 havin a lid 31 and capable of fitting into thetool compartment of an automobile.

In operation the threader is inserted through the solt 22, gripping endforemost, as shown in Figure 6 and pushed forward, hugging the tire 38as shown in Figure 7. The gripping end then protrudes on the outsidebeyond the tire as shown at 39, andthe strap 30 of the individual tirechain unit 40 is inserted end first into the recess 4 33 and engagedwith the prongs 3| to hold the strap in place. The engagement betweenthe prongs and the strap is maintained partly by the hooked character ofthe prongs and partly by the spring pressure of the tongue 32.

The next step, shown in Figure 8, is to pull on the threader drawing thecross chain portion 4| around and over the tire 38 until the strap 30emerges from the slot 22 as shown in Figure 8. The threader has nowperformed its function and can be removed as shown in Figure 9 while theclamp or buckle 42 of the individual tire chain unit is fastened to thestrap 30.

In view of my invention and disclosure variations and modifications tomeet individual whim or particular need will doubtless become evident toobtain all or part of the benefit of my invention without copying thestructure'shown, and I, therefore, call all such insofar as they fallwithin the reasonable spirit and scope of my claim.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

In a hand threader for introducing the strap of an individual tire chainthrough the slot in a wheel and around a tire, a resilient metallicstrip curved and adapted to hug the curve of a tire and a gripper formedfrom the strip at the end thereof and comprising a body extending inprolongation of the threader and curved transversely at the end, prongsextending from the body in the concavity of the curve and directed awayfrom the end and walls forming a socket for the end of a strap locatedon one side of the body and remote from the end of the body, the wall ofthe opening end of the socket bein flared outwardly to facilitate theinsertion of the strap into the socket at a position beyond the ends ofthe prongs.

ADRIAN C. BALSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,653,465 Montan et al Dec. 20,1927 2,257,657 Spahr Sept. 30, 1941 2,293,650 Hudson Aug. 18, 19422,328,680 Royer Sept. 7, 1943

